Spoils of War
by Rad Beoulve
Summary: *CHAPTER 2 IS UP* Who are Rad's true parents? What are his actual powers? What is his past? Those questions and many more will be answered as the story progresses... Please R&R!
1. Preparations

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Disclaimer: Final Fantasy Tactics and its characters belong to Squaresoft, that they do. I own absolutely nothing except for this story. Now that that's settled, let's get this story started! *Grins *

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Spoils of War

Chapter 1: Preparations

"I can't believe what you're asking of me?!"  
  
"…Dump it…"  
  
"But milord!"

"…Must I repeat myself?"  
  
"N-n-no…"  
  
"…Then do as I say…"

"…Please…don't…"  
  
"…Do it…"  
  
"I…I won't!"  
  
"…"  
  
"I don't care what you do to me!"  
  
"In that case…"  
  
"My…son…"  
  
**_And then…there was silence…_**  
  
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It was a harsh winter In Gariland. The Fifty-Year War was just coming to a close. Many women were widowed as they received notices of the deaths of their loved ones. Sickness was commonplace in times of war as many residents of Ivalice had succumbed to the plague. Many soldiers were forced to leave their families, as did children. 'Twas not an uncommon idea for children to fight in war. Military groups had decided that children entering war would be raised to be the ultimate war machines.

It was at this time that two soldiers were hiding in an underground shelter near Mandalia Plains. They had no means of keeping warm, but they made ends meet there. In the shelter were two figures. One was a young boy clad in light-brown armor. A silver breastplate faintly shined as his brown hood hung loosely behind his head. His blond hair had been completely covered with dirt and mud due to the hardships of battle. A small sword lay next to him as he stood as still as a statue. The other was a middle-aged man who wore ominous armor that looked as if only the devil could wear such armor. His sword had been discolored with the blood of his many victims of war. The feathers around the collar of his armor stood still as he walked around the young boy.

"Now then…"

"Sir!"  
  
"You realize that you might not make it out alive, do you?"  
  
"Yes sir!"  
  
"And you're still willing to fight? Are you really ready to die at your age?"  
  
"Yes sir!"  
  
"Good. Why are you fighting?"  
  
"Sir! Winning this war is everything, even if it means to lie, cheat, steal, and kill!"  
  
"Very good. You remembered my talks. Kid, you'll do all right as long as you remember that nobody likes people like us. We have to claw our way to the top and take any kind of job so we can fill our stomachs."  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
"All right then. Let's get some sleep. Tomorrow, we fight. Winner take all."  
  
"Yes sir… Good night, Gafgarion."  
  
"Heh, same to you kid…"

  
As the boy lay down on the ground, he took a moment to pull out a chain that he had around his neck. Attached to the chain was a small gold locket. With a sad sigh, he opened the locket and revealed some writings that were inscribed in the locket.  
  
"Kuse katal elista psayun crutil, kana oct terra runa nita…" he read from the locket. He read the writing again and sighed once again. "Once again, I can't understand what this says. Who wrote this gibberish?" He softly asked himself. "Why couldn't somebody write this in English? Oh well… At least this is all I have of the family I never had…" 

With one last sigh, he rolled over and closed his eyes as he drifted away into dreamland. His dreams were filled with images of people that could've been his family. The people in his dream were suddenly screaming as soldiers ran behind them with their weapons drawn. With wicked sneers on their faces, they stabbed and sliced through every single person and killed them in front of his horrified face.

He woke up screaming as several beads of sweat stuck to his face. The young boy crawled back and hugged the wall in fear. "…What's wrong with you, boy?!" shouted Gafgarion, who had woken up due to the boy's screaming. "I…I…had the dream again…" the boy replied while breathing heavily. "It's all right, kid. It's just a dream. Nothing more than a stupid dream that's trying to psyche you out. Now, try to get some sleep," said Gafgarion. "Thank you, Sir… Good night…" said the boy as he closed his eyes and fell asleep. The Dark Knight simply chuckled. Before he closed his eyes and rested, he said, "Good night, Rad…"


	2. Bloody Sword

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Disclaimer: Final Fantasy Tactics and its characters belong to Squaresoft, that they do. I own absolutely nothing except for this story. Now that that's settled, let's make this story a hit! *Grins *

**__**

Spoils of War

Chapter 2: Bloody Sword

Dawn had soon arrived as a chocobo warked with the light of the sun. Gafgarion was the first to wake up as he poked his head from the shelter that he and his apprentice occupied. He blinked a few times before his eyes were able to adapt to the light of the sunset. The view of the rising sun was a rarity to him since his view was somewhat darkened due to his helmet. He knew that a chance to see a sunset this wonderful would never come up again. Gafgarion sunk back into the shelter and walked towards the sleeping boy.

"Rad!"

"…zzz…uh…don't…kill them…zzz…"

"Rad! Wake up!"

His attempts to wake him seemed futile. He shook his head until he got an idea. He unsheathed his sword and turned it upside down, ready to plunge it through his apprentice's skull.

"Kid, if you value your life, you WILL wake up!"

"...Ah…huh…?"

As soon as the boy opened his eyes to see who said that, Gafgarion pushed his sword down and ran right through the ground just inches from Rad's head. As the weapon made a ringing sound from the pressure, Rad's eyes opened wide as he sat up. His heart felt like it was skipping beats.

"Sir, are you out of your mind?!"

"Silence!" said Gafgarion as he removed his sword from the ground and placed it in his sheath.

"Hrmm…"

"I woke you up so I could show you something marvelous, but if you don't want to…"

"Sir, yes sir!"

Rad stood up and shook his head to calm himself down. Gafgarion started walking towards the steep ramp that led to the entrance of the shelter. Rad followed, curious as to what his master was planning on showing him.

"Kid, here you go," said Gafgarion as he moved aside to let the squire see his surprise. Rad walked next to Gafgarion and watched in amazement as the light of the rising sun bathed the horizon with a mixture of yellow, orange, and red lights. The sun itself seemed to flash red and yellow.

"Wow…" said Rad as he admired the view before him. Gafgarion merely chuckled as he replied, "Enjoy it while you can. With what's going on with the country today, I doubt we'll ever get to see another peaceful sunrise again." "Why is that, sir?" asked the young apprentice. The dark knight merely frowned. "You see, reinforcements were supposed to arrive today from Lionel, but they haven't come yet. Maybe they were killed by the Black Sheep knights." The boy merely frowned and gave his master an apologetic look. "You know," Gafgarion started, "you've never been in an actual battle, have you?" Rad shook his head while his master gave him a stern look. 

"It'll be very dangerous. There are soldiers from Igros that are hunting us down. They should arrive here any minute. You might get injured. You might even get killed."

"Sir, I stand by all of your teachings. I studied under you because I want to survive. If I don't fight for my life then all of my training will have been for naught. I won't let you down. I'll fight by your side!" Rad unsheathed his broad sword and held it with both hands. "I swear it!"

"I'm happy to hear it. I'm proud to have you as my apprentice," said Gafgarion with a smile. The boy smiled back, but it was soon to be disturbed as his master had a grave look on his face.

"Sir, is there something wrong?" inquired Rad. "Hush!" said Gafgarion as he focused on his surroundings. He could hear a sound, although it was faint. The sound gradually became louder as the realization struck him that they were the sounds of footsteps. "Kid, get ready! It looks like the show is about to start!" exclaimed the dark knight as he unsheathed his mythril sword. 

"Follow me. The element of surprise is crucial to ensure our victory." He quickly ran behind a stack of boulders and motioned for the boy to follow him. The young boy scurried toward his master. "Rad, go hide behind that tall rock over there," ordered Gafgarion as he pointed towards a tall boulder standing behind a small one. Rad nodded and ran behind it. It wasn't too long until a group of six knights walked into the area where the two warriors were hiding.

"Captain!" shouted one of the knights. "Are you sure that the mercenaries are here? For all we know they could've made it past Sweegy Woods by now."

"Silence!" shouted the knight captain. "Our resources have never misled us before. I know they're around here somewhere…" He looked around as his white cape flapped with the wind. "Men, spread out. I know they're here. Search and destroy!" ordered the captain.

As the knights scattered, Gafgarion began to hope that they wouldn't discover him or his apprentice. As one of the Knights walked near Rad, the boy became very tense and stiffened up. The knight started walking towards Gafgarion's area. Rad seemed a bit relieved, but knew he had to do something to avoid being exposed. He looked around and saw a small stone on the ground. He looked at the shelter's entrance and had an idea. He slowly picked up stone and looked around to see if any of the knights could see him. After making sure no one would catch him in the act, he threw the stone towards the shelter. As the stone fell in, it made soft crackling noises with every landing. However, the noises were just loud enough to catch the attention of the captain and his fellow knight. "Huh?" asked the captain, startled by the noises inside the discovered shelter. "Hey, Akintude, come here. I think I found something." He motioned for his fellow knight to follow him as they made their way down to find the origin of the disturbance.

Meanwhile, Gafgarion was grinning to himself while thinking '_Kid, that was genius! Now we only have three of them to contend with._' Two of the knights were searching away from the two fighters. One of the knights was walking towards Gafgarion. The dark knight peeked around the boulders to see the other two knights with their backs turned. As the knight made his way towards Gafgarion's hiding place, the dark knight slowly tiptoed around the boulders, making sure that the unsuspecting knight wouldn't turn around. With one swift action, he grabbed the knight from behind and covered his mouth with his free hand so as not to alert the other knights. While his captive was being detained, Gafgarion ran his sword through the knight's back, destroying any hope of his victim's freedom. He removed his sword from the corpse's back and carefully set him on the ground. He knew well that even though his opponent met his death, that didn't mean that he didn't stop helping his allies. If he had let the corpse fall, the sound of his fall would be loud enough to get his allies' attention.

Rad saw the entire scene with wide eyes. '_Oh God, is that what I have to do to survive?! I know that I swore I would fight by my master's side, but I don't feel right taking the life of another…_' thought the tense youth as he tried to gather his thoughts and focus on the task at hand. He slowly reached into his uniform and held on to his pendent. '_God, please help me through this. Please forgive me for what I'm about to do…_' He let go of the pendent and decided to do something drastic. He didn't want to die, but if he wanted to live, he had no choice but to kill. With a deep breath, he broke away from his hiding spot and ran towards the shelter. In doing so, he grabbed the attention of the two knights that were searching away from them.

"Hey!!! There he is! Get him!" said one of the knights as he and his partner ran towards the youth. "Damn kid!" cursed Gafgarion as he came out of his hiding place and ran towards the knights. "If you want him, you'll have to get through me!" shouted the dark knight, stopping the two opposing knights in their tracks. "I don't care who you are," started one of the knights, "but you shall die in obscurity!" Gafgarion ignored the words of the knight and merely shouted to the boy, "RAD, GO NOW!!!"

The youth was already a step ahead of his master as his feet took him towards the shelter. Before he reached the entrance, he could hear one of the knights talking. "It was only a pebble…" he said. He could see one of the knights on his way up so he decided to take a chance and jumped towards the knight with his sword drawn. He swung his sword down and injured the knight by cutting deep into his soldier, forcing the knight to drop his sword. Rad felt a twinge of regret upon injuring the knight, but he forced himself to push away all feelings of pity. He pulled back and stabbed the knight's thigh, causing his surprised opponent to fall down in agonizing pain.

Meanwhile, Gafgarion was trying to hold off his opponents with some trouble. As he was defending against one of the knights, the other ran behind him and swung his sword down on the dark knight's arm with the intent of slicing it off. Fortunately for Gafgarion, his reflexes allowed him to dodge the incoming attack just in time. The knight was rewarded with a swift back kick in his 'knighthood', causing him to double over in pain. The knight in front of him kept swinging his sword while Gafgarion parried every one of his attacks. "You know," started Gafgarion while blocking the attacks, "blindly swinging your weapon can get you killed!!!" With a shout, he roughly smashed through the knight's sword and ran him through. His already-stained sword penetrated his opponent's heart. The dying knight's eyes rolled to the back of his head as he spat out blood and gasped his last breath. '_One down, one to go,_' thought Gafgarion as he turned around and looked at the knight on the ground, still in pain. Gafgarion brought his sword up. "SHOW'S OVER!!!" The last thing the knight saw was Gafgarion's blood-stained sword.

Rad reached the bottom of the shelter and noticed something strange. There seemed to be no one else in there. The boy scratches his head and thought, '_I know I saw both knights come in here. I took down one, but where in God's name is the other one?!_' His answer came abruptly as the knight captain ambushed the youth and swung his sword down, cutting though Rad's left arm. "Argh!" shouted the injured youth as he held on to his wound. He was quickly forced to let go as his opponent swung his sword again. Ignoring his wound, Rad held his sword with both hands and tried to defend himself as best as he could. Every time he parried, both of their swords would cause sparks due to the force of their strengths. The captain kicked Rad in the stomach, sending him staggering against the wall. Rad backed against the wall with a loud 'THUD' as he gritted his teeth while clenching his fists together. The knight sneered as he lifted his sword over his head and charged at the squire with the intent on splitting his head open. Not wanting to see his own demise, he stuck his arm out ahead of him and closed his eyes. 

All of a sudden, he felt his arm being pushed back as the knight was pressed against the youth's body. Frightened, Rad opened his eyes and saw the knight captain staring back at him in shock. The youth looked down and saw the cause of this shock. His sword was stuck inside the knight's chest, piercing his lungs. As the knight gasped for air, he dropped his sword and slowly staggered back. Rad pulled out his sword in horror. The dying knight fell onto his knees while gagging on his own blood. He reached for the youth and roughly grabbed his uniform while looking into his eyes. He let go and fell to the ground, exhaling his last bit of breath as a pool of blood formed under him. Rad, still in complete shock, took one look at his bloody sword and dropped it in disgust. He fell onto his knees, staring at the knight he just killed. Upon realizing what he had done, a single tear ran down his cheek.

Gafgarion walked towards the knight that was crawlilng towards his weapon. The dark knight noticed the wounds on the knight's body. "Where do you think _you're_ going?" asked Gafgarion. "Please…" pleaded the crippled knight, "I beg you…spare me…" "That's a laugh!" said Gafgarion. "You come after _us_ and you expect me to help _you_?!" "Please…" begged the fallen knight. The dark knight merely chuckled as he thought to himself, '_I might as well put you to good use._' The fallen knight didn't have any sign of sadness on his face as he continued to reach for his weapon. Gafgarion gripped his sword and exclaimed, "Master of all swords, cut energy! Night Sword!" He swung his sword down as a blood-red jewel hung above the knight's body. The knight knew what was to become of him as a phantom blade jutted from the ground and ran him through, piercing the jewel as well. The knight met his end, as Gafgarion's body felt rejuvenated due to the dark powers of his technique. He sheathed his sword and made his way into the shelter. He stumbled upon the body of the knight captain as his apprentice was kneeling next to the corpse with a look of sadness on his face.

"Kid…? You okay?" asked Gafgarion. Rad slowly looked up and gazed into Gafgarion's eyes with a look of pure sadness. His blue eyes began to water as he shouted, "I killed someone! I'm a murderer!!!" The youth punched the ground as he gritted his teeth.

Gafgarion sighed and knelt down next to his apprentice. "I know how you feel, Rad. Unfortunately, killing is just one those things that gets easier the more you do it."

The squire turned away. "Sir…please leave me alone…" "Are you sure, kid?" asked Gafgarion. "Yes, sir…" replied Rad. "I need…I need to think about what I've just done. Besides…I don't want you to see me like this…" The dark knight said nothing as he stood up and made his way out of the shelter.

Rad looked back down at the man he just killed. "I'm…a murderer…"

'_God…help me…_'


End file.
